Former Presidential Office treasurer Chen Cheng-hui (陳鎮慧) was questioned yesterday by the Special Investigation Panel of the Supreme Prosecutor Office over the money laundering allegations concerning former Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) family.
After finishing the interview just after noon, Chen Cheng-hui went immediately to the former president’s office, located just across the street from the panel’s building.
Approached by reporters as she tried to enter the building, Chen Cheng-hui said she felt dizzy and fell to the ground. She then stood up and hurried into Chen Shui-bian’s office.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Local news agencies speculated that prosecutors had persuaded her to testify against the former president in the case of alleged money laundering, a report later rebutted by prosecutors.
“As I have said more than once, our focus is first to flesh out the details of the alleged money laundering,” panel spokesman Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) said.
“Chen Cheng-hui is a former treasurer for the former president. Of course she can be of help to our investigation. That is why we summoned her,” Chen Yun-nan said.
“We never discussed the possibility of her testifying against any of the defendants in the probe,” he said.
The former president is due to report for questioning to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office at 11am today.
Former Bureau of Investigation director-general Yeh Sheng-mao (葉盛茂) will report to the same location at 9am.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said prosecutors needed to talk to the two defendants separately to compare their statements about missing classified documents containing information on the former first family’s banking activities.
Yeh has said he passed the documents on to Chen Shui-bian, who later told him “he could not find them.”
“We might arrange a meeting between the two if necessary,” said Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村), spokesman for the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.
Lin said that prosecutors’ first priority was to determine whether Yeh or Chen Shui-bian had lost the classified documents and whether either man was criminally liable.
Lin said Yeh and Chen Shui-bian would be questioned together if their separate statements did not add up.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
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